Oh, my. This novel. It's so unexpected. It's impossible to describe how it works. You just need to read it. Keep your expectations at bay. Push away your critical judgments away. Let this story tell itself to you. This is alchemic storytelling. It's about the trauma of everyday life, about being human, about how difficult it is to feel loved, to feel worthy. About how we scratch together semblances of an identity and cling to these long after they are of any use to us because without these fragile shells that we've constructed for ourselves we're just bags of water walking around. I'm completely bowled over by it. Read forward, with trust.

The reason I love NetGalley is because it's one of the few places the review goes directly to the publisher. I love being a part of this community—readers get to tell publishers what we want/don't want to see published. I believe, unfortunately, a lot of people are so grateful for free books, they don't realize the gift they've been given, and they post false/inflated reviews. I won't waste this opportunity.

W. W. Norton & Company, stories like this are not what we want to buy. I've never said this before in my life: I don't know how this made it through the extensive traditional publishing process without someone questioning it, and I'm being as polite as I possibly can.

There was no passion, no authenticity. Why do we care for Maeve? What was the point of the story at all? The book had so little going on, there were some random shock value things thrown in there to hopefully keep readers' attention, but they were simply cringe-worthy. The out-of-the-blue chapter focusing so much on racism was unnecessary and didn't fit—it was clearly, solely for the purpose of trying to hit a nerve in the social climate post-pandemic. And what was Maeve supposedly grieving? Her affair that meant nothing to the reader or her? Please, ask the authors you hire more questions about their intentions and passion for their stories and characters. It needs to show on the page.

Thank you for the opportunity to read the book and review. I'm hoping this review is seen by the proper people to ask the right questions about publications at your company in the future.

Hey all! This one was pretty darn great and left me with so many questions so I’d put this high but not quite a five star level. A gorgeous book club read to be sure a lot to go through. Thanks for the ARC, and cheers!

This is honestly one of the worst books I have ever read. Replete with lazy stereotypes of librarians and nausea-inducing characters. Read of you like books that make your queasy. The last book I forced myself through in a similar manner was Eileen, but at least that had weirdness going for it.

I wanted to like this one, as the description seemed promising, but I don't think this will be a book for me. The writing wasn't working for me and the characters weren't hooking me into the book. I could try and read this once the book is released and give it a second chance, but it is a DNF for now.

Thank you so much for sharing this title!

OMG I loved this. Admittedly it took me a bit to get into it, but then, it flew by. I am so into stories about women in their 50s and 60s that are fun and wild. We need more of this! What a fever-dream, truly.

Love!

Maeve Cosgrove is 45, lives in Maine with her loving husband, has a dream job at the library, and their daughter is a success. But one by one each piece of perfection comes misaligned, and even the granting of her greatest wish doesn't bring about the joy she'd expected. When Maeve's highly organized life seems to come unhinged, the crisis she's ensconced in is actually only the tip of the iceberg; so many underlying currents, unspoken issues, and buried secrets. A multitude of fascinating plot points converge: from Lost Boy child soldier Willie's life story, to wildly popular author Harrison Riddles' arrival, to shameful family relations. I love the realistic way in which Maeve's consequences and outcomes are alluded to, but not tied up neatly in a bow. I look forward to reading more by author Sarah Braunstein.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher W. W. Norton & Company for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. Bad Animals comes out March 19, 2024.